Bulgaria’s president signs LGBTQ ‘propaganda’ ban into law

Bulgaria’s president has signed the country’s feared so-called anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law into law.

Rumen Radev, who has been president since 2017, approved amendments to the 2020 Law on Preschool Education and School Education proposed by the pro-Russian Vazhrazhdane Party. Passed It was passed by the Assembly by a vote of 159 to 22 earlier this month.

The amendments ban “any form of direct or indirect propaganda, promotion or incitement in the education system” and define “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and established concepts in the Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between people of the opposite sex.”

The amendment has been controversial and has been likened to a crackdown on Russia’s queer community, with LGBTQ+, feminist and human rights groups urging Radev not to enact the law.

Hundreds of people protested outside government buildings in the capital, Sofia, after parliament passed the amendments.

Protesters waved rainbow pride flags and carried signs reading “Silence = Death” and “Cis Heterosexuality = Propaganda”. The crowd also chanted slogans such as “Bulgaria is not Russia” and “Silence means death”.

“Bulgaria is following in Russia’s footsteps,” queer rights group Distvi said in a statement, referring to President Vladimir Putin’s ban on the so-called international LGBT movement.

The new law “implicitly portends a witch hunt and authorizes any educational activity about LGBTQ people in schools,” said Denitsa Lyubenova, a lawyer for Deistovye.

Dystvie, along with other groups, Petition While calling for the withdrawal of the proposed amendment, signed by over 500 academics, Open Letter Blame the changes.

Teachers, scientists and doctoral students from Bulgaria’s higher education and scientific institutions said the changes address a “non-existent problem” and “normalize political attacks” against the LGBTQ+ community.

“With this letter we call on the entire Bulgarian academic community to unite in firmly and strongly condemning the voted changes,” the signatories wrote.

“At the same time, through this letter, we call on the President of the Republic of Bulgaria to reject the proposed changes to the law and on the representatives of the people to stop this absurd and shameful plan to institutionalize discrimination in schools, which are the core of Bulgarian society.”

In a statement, ILGA Europe’s executive director, known as Shabbar, said supporters of the law “claim that this is about protecting young people,” adding: “The truth is, this is an attack on the rights of children, particularly LGBTI children.”

“The objectives of this law are very similar to Russia’s anti-LGBT propaganda law adopted in 2012 and Hungary’s anti-LGBT propaganda law adopted in 2021, both of which have been deemed by various international stakeholders and institutions to be contrary to international and European human rights standards.”

“The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission has repeatedly found that such anti-LGBT propaganda laws violate the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).”

“The recent Venice Commission opinion on Hungary’s anti-LGBT propaganda law, including amendments to the law in the education sector, found that the law violates the European Convention on Human Rights and international human rights standards.”

“The law was found to ‘fail to comply with its obligations to ensure that the Hungarian education system provides children with objective and unbiased information about gender identity and sexual orientation and protects them from discrimination.'”

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty posted on X/Twitter on Monday (August 12): “I am deeply concerned by the law recently passed by the Bulgarian parliament banning so-called LGBTI propaganda in schools. [president] Radev urged people not to sign the petition, saying the authorities should tackle discrimination and hostile rhetoric against LGBTI people, including in the run-up to the elections.”

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